WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ohio Congress members who left office last year recorded some of the biggest salary increases in Congress on their way out the door.

Salaries, including bonuses, in the office of Republican Rep. Steve Austria of Beavercreek rose 75 percent in the last quarter of 2012, and those in the office of GOP Rep Steve LaTourette of Bainbridge Township were up by 72 percent, according to an organization that tracks congressional staff pay. That's in comparison to an average of the salaries the congressmen paid in the first three quarters of 2012.

The bonuses dispensed by Austria and LaTourette were the sixth and seventh highest percentages in all of Congress, according to the data compiled by Legistorm.

"Departing members of Congress like to reward staffers who are looking for new jobs," says Garrett Snedeker, an editor at Legistorm. "They don't have the same accountability going into the New Year as those who are returning."

"Unfortunately, there is no rule against this practice," added Tom Schatz, president of the fiscal watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste. "I think the taxpayers would be better served if this kind of activity were against the rules."

Retiring members of Congress have a different take on the pay raises. LaTourette, who retired from Congress after 18 years in office, says his salary account went up because many of his longtime staffers cashed out unused sick pay and vacation days. Salary records indicate LaTourette paid his workers a total of $980,326 in 2012.

"It seems to me that after 18 years of service, people shouldn't be punished for not going on vacation and actually showing up for work," said LaTourette. "They were paid in accordance with what they had earned."

In Austria's case, many staffers found new jobs after he announced he wouldn't seek re-election. Those who stayed had to do the work of multiple staffers, as well as box up the contents of Austria's three congressional offices in Ohio and Washington, D.C. Austria spokesman David Landon said the congressman needed to hire temporary workers at year's end to aid the shutdown, which boosted his expenses that quarter.

Austria ended up paying his workers a total of $992,410 in 2012, slightly more than he spent on payroll in 2011. Austria did not spend as much money as he was allowed to on office expenses in 2012, and returned money to the U.S. Treasury at the end of the year, said Landon.

Each House of Representatives office gets an office expense budget from Congress based on factors that include the distance the member's district is from Washington, D.C and the cost of district office space. According to the Congressional Research Service, office expense allowances for members of Congress in 2012 ranged between $1,270,129 and $1,564,614, with an average of $1,353,205. If members of Congress overspend their allowance, they must pay the extra money themselves.

Among the 20 House of Representatives offices that gave out the biggest bonuses at the end of 2012, nearly all were members of Congress who were not returning. Retiring New York Democratic Rep. Gary Ackerman had a 101 percent payroll increase, the highest in Congress.

In Ohio congressional offices, Austria and LaTourette gave the biggest year-end salary increases, while the third and fourth highest were issued by Copley Township Democratic Rep. Betty Sutton, and Cincinnati-area Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt, who both lost their reelection bids. Pay in Sutton's office went up by 38 percent in the last quarter, totaling $990,544 for the year. In Schmidt's office, pay increased 35 percent at the end of the year, for a $1,110,938 annual total.

In an email relayed through a spokesman, Sutton said the salaries in her office "reflected compensation for the extraordinary work and tremendous job my staff did to wind down the office and make sure that our constituents continued to receive the services they deserved, that legislative duties were fulfilled, and that work being done by our office was transitioned to other appropriate offices in a position to continue working on their cases."

Schmidt could not be reached for comment.

According to Legistorm's statistics, many congressional offices give out year-end bonuses to staffers, even if the member of Congress is not leaving. In 2012, the average Republican office raised pay by 16.4 percent during the year's last quarter, while Democrats' pay rose 15.1 percent.

The Ohio congressional offices with the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth highest pay increases during the year's final quarter were those of members who were returning to office.

Pay in the office of Holmes County GOP Rep. Bob Gibbs rose 34 percent. In an emailed statement, Gibbs said overall pay in his office is below average, and his staff "earns salaries that are on par with their experience and position in a congressional office."

"At the end of the day, our office operates under a very conservative budget and our staff salaries are no exception," said Gibbs.

The total payroll in Gibbs' office for 2012 was $839,410 -- the state's third lowest tally.

The office with the highest overall salary expenses for 2012 was that of retiring Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich, which spent $1,159,181. Kucinich did not respond to an emailed request for comment on the salaries in his office. Staffers for Kucinich got an 19 percent raise in the year's last quarter -- the ninth highest number in Ohio.

The office with Ohio's sixth highest year-end payroll boost was that of Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, where pay went up 31 percent. Her payroll expenses for the year totaled $998,024. Kaptur spokesman Steve Fought said pay for the year's last quarter usually includes compensation for overtime, severance pay for departing staff members, and raises for staffers who are being promoted.

Fought said that Kaptur's unsuccessful end-of-the-year bid to become the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee "created a situation where several staff were working more than 60 hour weeks and were due compensation for their efforts."

Niles Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan's office had Ohio's seventh highest pay increase in the year's last quarter. Pay in his office went up slightly more than 20 percent, for a yearly total of $1,143,414. Ryan spokesman Pat Lowry said five of Ryan's staffers have been with the office since he entered Congress in 2003.

"The office budget allows for usual expenses during the first three quarters of the year," said Lowry. "If there are unexpended funds in the last quarter, they are distributed to staff salary on the basis of merit. Staff salaries have remained virtually flat for the last three years."

Dayton-area Republican Mike Turner gave his staffers the state's eighth highest year-end rise in pay: slightly less than 20 percent. As a way to encourage performance among staff, Turner's office offers low base pay and offers a bonus if internal goals are met, said spokesman Thomas Crosson. He said Turner's office also tends to restructure staff responsibilities and offer promotions in the last quarter of the year, which also accounts for rises. Pay in Turner's office totaled $1,051,590 that year.

The office of Warrensville Heights' Marcia Fudge rounded out Ohio's top 10 for bonuses in 2012, with a 16 percent increase in salaries at the end of the year. Her office pay totaled $940,424 for the year. She said salary adjustments in her office were primarily based on bonuses, filling vacancies and promoting a part-time worker to full time.

"Other positions vacated during 2012 were not filled due to projected budget cuts and remaining staff picked up the workload," Fudge said in an emailed statement.

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